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PATENTED MAR. s, 1868.

E. R. SHEPARD. RAIL FOR RAILWAYS.

I-EDWIN- n SHEPARD, OFbSGR-ANTON, PENNSYLVANIA,

Letters Patent No. 75,296, and March 3, 1868.

mrsovsursr m R'AILS FOR smwns.

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'ro ALL WHOM IT MAY oononnm i .1

Be it known that I, EDWIN It. SHEPARD, of Scranton, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, have invented an Improved Rail for Railroads; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description (if the some. i I My invention consists of a rail'composed of an upper and lower portion fitted and secured together in the manner described hereafter, so as to be self-tightening under pressure, and thereby so firmly bound together as to be equivalent to a solid rail, while the upper portion may berhadc of steel, and the lower portion of inferior iron, the rail thus possessing all the durableproperties of but being much less expensive than a steel raill In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and apply nay-invention, I will now proceed to describe its construction, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of this specification, and in whichv Y Figure 1 is a side view of a portion of my improved rail.

Figure '2, a sectional perspective view; and

Figure.8,'a transverse section on the line 1-2, fig. 1.

.The rail consists of the upper portion A of steel, an'dijthe' lower portion B of iron, the flanges a of 'thelatter, which are similar to those of ordinary rails, being spiked in the usuil manner to the sleepers 6 6. Forming part of the portion B ofthe rail is alongitudinal rib, d, which is bevelled 'at the outside, near the upper edge, as shown at a: in the drawing, and is adapted to a groove, e, in the upper portion A of the rail, 0. longitudinal rib, e, on the latter being bevelled near its lower edge, 3 and fitting into a groove, c', in the lower portion B-of the rail.- When the rails are laid, the ends of the bars which composethenpper portion meet or nearlymeet at points midway. or thereabouts between the opposite ends of the bars which compose the lower portions of the rail, and near each end of each upper bar A is an elongated opening-or slot, 2', through which and through-a circular opening in the lower portion 13 passes a bolt,-n. Thronghaslot in the'shank of each bolt passes a key, 'In, a projection .on the widest end of which fits adop'ening in one end of an s-shaped spring,

a, and near the head of each bolt is formed a flat projection, s, (fig. 8,) which is inclined 'on the under side, as

seen in fig 3, and bears against the lower edge of thefelongatcd opening in the ribe e of thohp'or tion A of the rail, so that when under pressure the parts are forced together, or are brought together, by wear, or-any other cause, and the bolt 4 0688005, the action of the spring upon the wedge or key will immediately cause the bolt to be drawn on, and the face of the projection or incline a, is maintained in contact with the lower side of the elongated hole inthe upper portion of the rail, thereby prcvcnting'the ends of the said upper portion erthe raiL'where they meet, from working up and down, and thus rendering thetrack uneven, as well as preventing noise, wear, arid splitting or upsetting of the ends of the railsr Owing to thewedge-likcform of the ribs d a,

where they fit the grooves c c, the tendency of the pressure upon the upper portion of the rails is to force the ribs together and render the two bars as solid as a single rail, and prevent the entrance between the ribs of "dust and moistiire;

It will be observed that the edge of the rib of neither portion of the rail extends to the end of the recess, there being a space between the bottom of the recess and end of the rib, so that the two portions of the rail are always self-tightening under'pressure. The openings 1' are of such a length that the two portions A B of the rails may expand and'contract freely independently of each other, while the spring 0, acting on the keys, tends to tighten the bolts. While the two portions of the rail have a continuous tendency to be wedged together undcrtlie pressure ofthe car-wheels, they may be readily detached from each other after the withdrawal of the bolts when it becomes necessary. The upper portion A ofthe rail may he made of superior wrought iron instead of steel,- and the lower portion of inferior iron.

I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- An inclined and wedge-keyed bolt, constructed substantially as described, in combination with a compound rail, as and for the purpose set forth. p

' In teltimonywhereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the prcsehccof tw'o subscribing witnesses.

' EDWIN R. SHEPARD.

Witnesses;

Cmmtss ErFosrsn, Jenn W nn. 

